Stephen Turner, a senior at the University of Minnesota-Morris, discusses his recent internship in the Community Affairs office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

I recently spent the summer as a Community Affairs
intern at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. I'm now entering
my last year of college at the University of Minnesota-Morris, where
I'm majoring in business management and minoring in economics and
music.

I was hired to work primarily on the Pine Ridge banking and community
development initiative, which deals with economic development and
housing possibilities on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern
South Dakota. Problems such as housing shortages and a stagnant
or nonexistent economy typically plague Indian reservations and
Pine Ridge is no exception. To deal with the problems on Pine Ridge,
the Federal Reserve Bank plans to work with community and business
leaders on and near the reservation to establish community development
goals and ways to work together to achieve those goals.

However, the Fed needed an accurate assessment of the conditions
on the reservation, so I researched housing, insurance and economic
development on reservations. By reading reports about tribal economic
development, I learned why many of these types of efforts have been
unsuccessful and how they could be redirected for more positive
results. I also learned about housing programs that are available
specifically for Native Americans, and I conducted a study on the
availability of insurance on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
I was even able to coordinate and attend meetings on two Indian
reservations in northern Minnesota where I could apply ideas pertaining
to economic development and housing.

This endeavor turned out to be quite a match for me because I
was born and raised on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota,
where I'm also an enrollee in the White Earth Band of Chippewa.
As you can imagine, I immediately saw the applicability of this
initiative.

My internship at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis was a
very satisfying experience because I was able to get a taste of
the business world. I worked 40-hour work weeks and received better
training and pay than I would have had I worked a summer job on
my reservation. For any student, getting paid to use one's mind
and learn is a welcome scenario.

For my family and the culture I represent, every professional
step I take is groundbreaking. I hope not only to leave a discernible
trail, but to assist others who share my interest in community development
to follow it.

Stephen Turner, a senior at the University of Minnesota-Morris,
recently performed an internship in the Community Affairs Department
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. His internship was coordinated
though the INROADS program, whose goal is career development for
talented minority students.